When You Get Drunk, You Wake Up To The Future
by shiiki-sama
Summary: England wakes up in a time far from his own. With no clue of how he got there or any thought of ever going back home, he meets Gintoki Sakata, in charge of an odd-jobs business decides to help him out. However, they're not really what they seem.
1. Chapter 1

It took me a while, but I did it. Please, let me know if you like it, love it, or down right hate it. (but, don't go overboard and abuse it with hate comments.) Anywho, this is a crossover between Hetalia and Gintama. My very first crossover, really. I am also open to opinions and of course, in all honesty, I will take them. Of course, the two chapters are a work-in-progress so it'll take a while for it to be complete. Please bear with me!

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><p>Silver hair, wavy locks that remained in place; he was a lazy, good-for-nothing wanker that only cared for sugar. But, he... he changed my life and I found that there was more to him than I expected. It feels like only yesterday that we met.<p>

Oh? I didn't tell you? Well, it's a long story. It was only two years ago that I was stuck in a world, a time completely different from the one I'm from. It was a year filled with aliens, samurai, and abnormally huge dogs as large as a dining room table. If you don't believe me, just ask the man with the silver perm. Everyone here is quite mad, if I do say so myself. But, they helped me when I needed them. Even though, they make the problems worse at times; kind of like a certain nation I know...

~England's pov~

Two years earlier, I woke up in a smug little town. "Where am I?" I asked myself as sat up, looking around at the strange and unusual things around me. The pounding on my head just made it worse for me. Blasted hangover. I got up and started walking, trying to find where I was. I asked a strange-looking creature where I was. As it turned out, she just gave me a look and scoffed as she went about her business. Wherever I was, these creatures were quite rude. I asked almost anyone I passed, but they looked at me strangely. It was as if I spoke a different language or something; which I was. I soon realized they spoke in Japanese. It was a good thing I learned a few words with Japan. So, was this Japan in the future? or the past?

I asked an old man sitting out on the street and all he said to me was, "You're on my house." Well, that didn't help me. I moved on and asked a woman in a pink kimono. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was very polite and gave me a smile. I was going to ask her where I was, when a man appeared and began wooing her. The woman had on the most terrifying face that even Russia himself would fear more than his own sister. She shouted nasty words at him and punched him in the face. She resumed smiling again towards my direction. "I'm sorry. What did you need help with?" I shook my head and told her I just remembered what I forgot and just left her to her business.

I spent hours on end, asking people and even weirder things like animals, robots, cat-eared people -or as Japan would say- neko? I also asked aliens as well. Of course, that didn't go so well so I ran as fast as I could away from them. I caught my breath after losing sight of them. I'm pretty sure that 'friend' of America's would be just fine here. "Just where the bloody hell am I?" I growled. I wandered around aimlessly again and bumped into a man in a duck costume. He said not a single word, but held up signs in which he communicated from. He told me that I was in the future where aliens and samurai were supposedly trying to live together under the order of the government. I listened-or should I say- read intently as I tried to comprehend every word he was showing me. I couldn't understand. Was this... the future of Japan? I also wondered if that "friend" of America's was here, too.

This was getting ridiculous, how was this Japan's future? I thought the apocalypse had begun. At first, I couldn't believe it. I thought he was kidding at first when a huge shadow loomed above us. I looked up and saw a ship. It floated past and I asked the man what it was. He held up another sign and said that they were cargo ships as well as many others. I was fascinated by their size. Before I could ask him anything more a man in a blue kimono with long, black hair jumped out and a huge missile aimed right at him. I managed to avoid getting hit. The man gave a triumphant laugh and smirked at his attacker. "You think that could stop me? Stupid Shinsengumi! You can't stop me! I will wipe out the government off the face of the earth!"  
>A few men in uniforms began chasing after him. One of them had a bazooka over his shoulder. "KATSURA!" he shouted. The rest of the men followed in tow. I stood there dumbfounded without a clue of what was happening. This city just gets weirder and weirder.<p>

I soon found a park, I looked over at the bench and spotted a man in sunglasses smoking a cigarette. I haven't smoked in a long while. I desperately needed one. I woke up in a strange era; with Japanese terrorists and alien citizens to boot. Hopefully, this man could tell me where I was. This man was Taizo Hasegawa. He was once a man of worthiness. He used to work for the Bakufu. He had a good life. After a little misunderstanding, he lost his job. His wife left him as well. Now, the only thing left of him was a pair of sunglasses and the clothes on his back. He was given the nickname "dork". It was a pity that some people could actually say that to him. I'd tell him about myself, but he would call me crazy. After some chatter, it had soon gotten dark. "Would you look at the time, it's that late already?" he asked as he looked at the sun that was going down.  
>"Will you be alright, Taizo?" I asked him.<br>He laughed held up his hands. "You really don't have to call me that. Just Hasegawa is fine."

I nodded and stood up from the bench. "Well, it's nice meeting you."

"Uh.. you, too. And take care. Mr. uh..."

"Eng-Arthur. Arthur Kirkland."

He nodded and smiled. "Arthur-san. Goodbye and goodnight."

"Night."

I walked out the park and had completely forgotten to ask him what this place was. I also forgot that I didn't have shelter or a place to stay for the meantime. I wandered aimlessly through the outskirts of town and soon found myself outside of a snack bar. A woman and an old man walked out. The woman stopped by the doorway and watched him go. I noticed that she was looking at me. "Well, are you coming in or not?" I looked at her for a moment. I was lost, I didn't have a place to stay and to add up to my dilemma, I was stuck in the future where aliens and humans alike live about with themselves. I kindly took her offer and went inside. She gave me a drink as I sat down.

"So, what's the matter with you?" she said. "You seem down."  
>I sighed. Should I explain to her? She'd think I was crazy, but there was no one else who would be willing to listen. Nor believe me for that matter. Well, it was worth a shot. I explained to her everything that happened, the people I met here as well as where I came from. She listened intently. She didn't ask questions and occasionally nodded as if she understood. As I finished, she basically asked questions right then.<br>"So, you came here from another world and you're saying you have no clue of how you came to be here?"  
>"Y-Yes, that is correct."<br>"Hmm..." she pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette. "This is Kabukichou, a small town in Edo. This place was once home to brave samurai. After the Joi War, the laws changed; making swords illegal for samurai if they weren't of the government. Just like those men you saw earlier. They are the ones responsible for taking care of these streets. Samurai no longer exist here. Except for one; he was retired. He was a part of that war, that man no longer carried a sword; but, a wooden one."

"I see."

"So, if you're from the past and you ended up here... the future, you call it..."

"Mm-hmm.." I said, wanting her to go on.

"Would that mean that you were a time traveler?" she asked.

"Well, no- not... exactly... I just woke up here... I may have used magic somehow..."

"Magic? Are you some kind of wizard?"

"Wha-Well, I suppose you can say that. I mean, I can conjure up a few things from time to time." I explained. "It's as simple as that."

"Huh." she blew smoke from her cigarette. "I see. Well, are you hungry?"

"Uh... I really don't wish to be a bother... I don't have the money for-"

"It's on me."

"Beg pardon?"

"I said, you don't need to pay me. I will let you stay here for one night only. Tomorrow, I'm going to take you to someone I know who can help you."

I blinked, not believing what I was hearing. "R-Really?"

She nodded and brought me some food. "Now eat up. And, after you do that... take a bath, too. You look a bit dirty."

I paused for a second.

"What's wrong?"

"I seem to have lost my wallet. It was here, before I got inside."

I noted that she had an assistant wearing a green kimono and had cat ears. She turned her head and glared. "You idiot!" she said and whacked her worker upside the head.

"You're not supposed to steal! I told you that, already, idiot!"

"O-Otose-san... But, I-I-I was only..."

"But, nothing!" she retorted and handed back my wallet.

"Th-Thank you."

"By the way, what was your name?" she asked me.

"Uhm. A-Arthur Kirkland. I assume your name is Otose?"

"Yes. You may call me that if you like. And, the thief here is Catherine."

"It's nice to meet you both."

"The pleasure is ours. Now, eat your food before it gets cold."

"Oh, right."

I spent my first night in the future at the home of a complete stranger whom I just met. I bathed, changed and went straight to sleep. Tomorrow wasn't going to be so pleasant.

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><p>*Chapter 2 Coming soon!*<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, guys! It's me again. I finally managed to finish Chapter 2. Just a little bit of info, in case I haven't covered it in the earlier Chapter. All character belong to their original owners. And whatever else other reference I may make here is for entertainment only. It's GinTama also, so I guess that works. Anywho, enough of my talking. On with the Chapter! XD Be sure to leave a review after reading. (although, you don't have to. it's really optional. Reply to me about anything, you love me, you want me, you want to be friends, send hate mail. (which I hope you really don't.) well, whatever it is, just tell me something. xD)

Hetalia- Axis Powers belongs to Himaruya Hidekaz

GinTama belongs to Hideaki Sorachi

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><p>I woke up that following morning. I heard voices coming from out front. One of them belonged to Otose, and the others... well, BANG! I jolted out from bed and my head began to throb. "Ugh..." I laid back and down. The weight of the hangover was too much to bear. "Dammit..." The whole place shook for a quick minute. I got up and ran out.<p>

~Gintoki's pov~  
>"A time traveling wizard, eh?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "This could be interesting."<p>

"I didn't say that, but that's how he explained it." Otose replied. "Of course, he has some trouble and he can't seem to know where he is. I let him stay the night; that's why I asked if you could at least help him out."

"Does this mean I get money from you?"

"Hell no! You still owe _me_ money, you imbecile!"

"Sadaharu! Noo!" Kagura shouted.

The stupid dog hits the wall while trying to chase its own tail. The sound went with a loud _BANG!_ and shook the whole place up. Otose glared and shouted. "He's asleep! Get that mutt out of here!"

"Who is?" Kagura wondered.

I spotted a blonde male rushing out in only the white robe, Otose gave him, apparently. He looked as if he saw a ghost or something. That's funny. We all looked at him, well, look at those eyebrows! They're _**huge**_! It's like caterpillars just made a home on his face or something! He looked at Otose with a worried look on his face. "Is everything alright? I heard a loud bang and then..." he looked over at us. "Who are these people?" He had a weird accent while speaking in Japanese. Who is this guy?

"Yeah. We're all right." she said. "Sleep well?"

"Oh. Yes, I did actually. I still have a little bit of a hangover."

"That's all right I have something to take care of that..."

"Good morning!" another voice rang. It was Shinpachi. He walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Mornin', Shinpachi." I responded along with Kagura in unison. He sat by the counter. I whispered to him and explained that we had a client from the future who was a wizard.

"Whoa, really?" he sounded really excited. "This must be a big problem, then. Who is he?"

"I'm Arthur Kirkland. It's very nice to meet you."

"How could you hear us? We were whispering." I told him, admittedly.

"You call that whispering? I could hear you."

"Oh. I'm sorry. This is the man I was telling you about. He was stuck here, in the 'future'. He's a bit weak from his hangover."

"The only problem is that I can't go back home to the past, where I belong. I don't know how I got here and why I got here. But, I hope to go home soon."

"Don't worry, Arthur-san." Shinpachi assured him. "I'm sure we'll get you back home in no time."

"Thank you very much." Arthur said, bowing.

"I'm sorry. I'm Shinpachi Shimura. The man with the silver hair is Gintoki. I'm pretty sure you already know Otose-san and Catherine-san. The girl in red with the hair buns is Kagura-chan. And, the huge dog is Sadaharu."

Arthur glanced over at the dog and freaked out. "He's huge!"

"That he is. I'm sorry about this Arthur-san. Strange things happen here, so you're going to have to bear with it." Shinpachi said to him.

"Since he's going to be here awhile, why don't we show him around the town?"

"That's a good idea, Gintoki." Otose agreed. "But, if anything happens to him, you're responsible for getting him back."

"I know, I know." I said to her as headed out the door.

I noticed that Arthur was frowning as he walked next to me. It seemed the yukata -Otose provided for him- must be really uncomfortable for him since we are here in Kabukichou. I'm pretty sure where he's from, he must not have seen or worn one before. "Is there something wrong with the yukata?" I decided to ask him.  
>"Oh, no. I'm thankful Otose gave me these. But, these were hers." he explained to me. "I would've been fine with what I was wearing, but she said it reeked of booze and vomit."<br>I chuckled, seeing as how he was drinker, too. "Well, be thankful for that. Of course, you will be staying here a while, so I hope you mind the hospitality."  
>"Thank you. But..."<br>"'But?'"  
>"Well, I don't wear these often. I wore them along with a friend of mine a few times to festivals and such. It was nice."<br>Before I got to ask him a few things, I spotted Otae stepping out of a market. A plastic bag in one hand, and a bento on the other. She was in such a good mood she was practically beaming. Shinpachi was the first to approach her.  
>"Hey, sis!" he beamed.<br>"Oh, Shin-chan! What are you doing here?"  
>"Nothing, really. We're just showing our new client around the place." I noticed he leaned in closer and whispers to her. "He's pretty much new to Edo. I hear he's a wizard."<br>She looked over and her face brightened. "Oh, my! It's you again!" Otae said as she looked at Arthur and went over to him.  
>"'Ello."<br>"I see you found Gin-san to help you out. So, you're a wizard?" she asked, tilting her in head, curiously.  
>"W-Well, I don't mean to brag or anything. But, I can do a bit of this and that." he says.<br>"What made you get to Kabukicho?"  
>"I have no clue, honestly. I just woke up and here I am. I don't know if I'll be able to return back to my own time, though."<br>"Oh, I see, now!" Otae said, hitting a fist onto her palm.  
>Arthur blinked.<br>"You're a time lord and you're stuck here with your trusty time machine thing, correct?"  
>Arthur chuckled. "Not exactly."<br>I couldn't help but to jump in, I had a hunch there was something on him that I didn't look into... "So, do you by any chance have a sort of objects, you know, like a... magic pen or something?"  
>"What the bloody hell are you going on about?"<br>This guy gets annoyed pretty easily. This will be fun to bug him with his time here.  
>"I am not a time lord, interesting as it is, and I most certainly am not a wizard. B-But, I wish I was!" he was sputtering his sentences. This is guy's funny, I Iike him already. After a few more conversing, we departed from Otae and headed off to go show Arthur around... <em>wait, what's that?<em> I grabbed my sword from my belt and tossed it at the tree.  
>The others blinked as there was a yelp and someone fell out. Geez… this ninja creeper again. Does she even have a life?<br>"What the hell, Gintoki?" Arthur shouted and went over to her. "Excuse me, Miss, but... are you alright?"  
>I watched as the purple-haired ninja ran her hands all over his face and through his hair. Yep. She lost her glasses. Again.<br>He blinked in confusion. "Can I help you?"  
>"Gin-san..." she said as she caressed his cheek. "Gin-san, I love you."<br>"TH-THAT'S NOT GIN-SAN, SACHAN-SAN! WHERE ARE YOUR GLASSES!" Shinpachi shouted.  
>"I am not Gi-YOU HAVE TERRIBLE EYESIGHT!" I heard him shout. He seemed really disturbed and back away from her.<br>She rebounded and clung to him. "GIN-SAAAAN~~~~! PLEASE! PLEASE, RAPTURE ME IN YOUR WRATH! I WANT TO SCREAM OUT YOUR NAME IN PAIN! TAKE ME! TAKE ME!"  
>"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!" he said pushing her away. "I AM NOT GINTOKI! NOW GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF ME, YOU BLOODY GIT!"<br>I had no clue what on earth he was saying, he spoke in a different language. All I can make out is that he's angry and looks like he's about ready to rip her to pieces.  
>"DAMMIT, GINTOKI!" he shouted. "HELP ME!"<br>And with a loud blast, I noticed Katsura jumped down from a car and laughed. Almost immediately everyone stopped even the crazy ninja girl and Arthur.  
>"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME, YOU BASTARD SHINSENGUMI!" he shouted as he ran past. He tosses over his shoulder, the bomb landing right into Arthur's hands.<br>"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.  
>Within a second, the place blew up in smithereens.<p>

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><p>England: Hello readers! That was the end of Chapter 2. The writer would like to apologize for taking so long.<br>Gintoki: -just started reading Chapter 1- "The wavy perm that stayed in place." -chuckles- I never knew you felt that way about me, Arthur-kun~!  
>England: Oh, shut up you bloody wanker! It's not my fault the writer was stupid enough to dump me on you. Out of all people, she had to choose me!<br>Gintoki: I don't think there's anything wrong-  
>England: I was almost molested by some idiot ninja with horrible eyesight and I got arrested! There is everything wrong about it!<br>Gintoki: The storyline was interesting!  
>England: -facepalm, sighs- ...<p>

Chapter 2 did take me about a week to complete. Now for chapter 3! What else is in store for England? Who will he meet next and what else it's to come for our dear Brit? Find out next time in Chapter 3!  
>Shinpachi: That was a bit overdramatic.<p>

I forgot to mention in the last chapter, with Otae's second appearance, it was a Doctor Who reference if no one caught that. Of course if you haven't seen that show, do it now! You have no clue what you're missing!

See ya later with Chapter 3! :D


	3. Chapter 3

HEY GUYS! BEEN A WHILE. How have you been? Sorry, I haven't been able to log in lately. Between school work and roleplaying and blogging, I'm pretty much booked all this week as well a distracted. But, I have been working on Chapter three for you guys. And, since I've been gone for a while, I just thought giving you _**two**_ chapters this time. It's about time my readers deserve better because of my declining presence. But, any who. I made the chapters a bit lengthy this time; because it's better. But, leaving my readers in anticipation is kinda fun. So, here's Chapter three and four for now. Enjoy reading.** DONDAKE!**

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><p>~England's pov~<p>

How in the HELL did I get into this mess? I can't believe those three. Leaving me behind like that. Making that ninja woman feel up all over me like that damn frog! I am going to get nightmares from that now. I can't believe them. It's already my second day here, and I'm already arrested. Ridiculous! I don't understand why I had to get pulled into this.  
>And, who the devil is Katsura? Here I am now; sitting in this prison cell with no clue why. Where's my say in this? I did nothing wrong! I swear, if that silver-haired wanker doesn't-<br>"OI!" a deep and demanding voice yelled.  
>"OI!" he yelled out again. It took me a moment to realize that he was talking to me. I was so busy daydreaming, I wasn't aware that the officer with the black hair was standing there, the cell doors fully open. He had black hair and a smug look on his face. He also had a cigarette in his mouth. Behind him was a blond male wearing a red sleeping mask on his head. With a smirk, he spoke up.<br>"You know, Hijikata-san, I don't think yelling at him is going to help. I have an idea."

The kid, who I learned later, went by the name of Sougo Okita. He locked the doors to the cell with a key, while his subordinate, Assistant-Captain Toshiro Hijikata, was inside the prison cell. He fumed at Okita while said male was casually throwing back insults. I had to hold in my tongue to keep from laughing.  
>"Have fun, Hijikata-saaan~!" Sougo sang as he waved to Hijikata from outside the cell.<br>"You bastard!" Hijikata spat out. "I'm going to kill y-! Hey! Come back here!"  
>These officers seem a bit too unorthodox to be dealing with crime and whatnot. Their Captain, I hear, is a complete laugh also. He stalks Otae around like its serious business and woos her. Of course, that never ends well.<p>

Sougo led us out the cell and into the front of station. I asked him why I was let out. He simply told me: "Someone called to bail you out. You're off the hook. But, keep away from the terrorist called 'Katsura'. He's bad news. Unless... you're in cahoots with him I won't hesitate to come after you." He was holding a bazooka over his shoulder with a huge smile on his face. Bloody hell, he so much reminds me of Russia. That's not good.  
>A familiar voice called out to me, I recognized it to be Otose and behind her was... oh, that git! I am going to kill him...<br>I stomped towards the wanker, my fists at my sides. I was glaring daggers at the samurai that got me in prison the first place. I couldn't manage to stop myself to thank Otose, because my anger got to me.  
>"YOU WANKER!" I brutally shouted at him. "YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO HELP ME, NOT GET ME INTO PRISON! IF YOU ARE WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE, THEN, DAMMIT! I DEMAND YOU SHOW ME!" I was breathing heavily, continuing to glare at him.<br>"S-Sorry, Arthur-san, it's just that we got separated from you during the explosion. We accidentally took Sachan-san with us instead. But, Gin-san took care of her after that."  
>"How could you mistaken me for a total nutjob?" I blinked.<br>"W-Well, there was smoke. We didn't mean to leave you behind." Shinpachi, pressed on. "We're sorry."

I looked at him for a moment. Besides the others, he seems like the only one here with common sense. Sadly, no one seems to bother with him.  
>(Shinpachi: A-Actually, they do care about me. They just don't listen to me.) I sighed, having no point in fussing any further. "I suppose that's alright. Otose, thank you for bailing me out." I said, turning my direction towards her.<p>

"It's the least I could do. This idiot here can't seem to make any dough around here. All he does is sit around eating sweets and reading JUMP."

I had no clue who she was referring to until she glared at Gintoki, who didn't seem to notice at all. He did look the type to loaf around. The deaf fish eyes and messy perm was a real giveaway. But, the real question that's been on my mind was what on earth is JUMP?

It was nightfall again. Day three begins tomorrow. Nothing else good has happened, except that crazy ninja woman keeps showing up. Doesn't she have a hobby; or at least a day job? This city has whack jobs living here. I also noticed that Gintoki's place only has one bedroom. Kagura and Sadaharu sleep in the closet, strange how that works, and Shinpachi is at home. Me: Just a pillow and a blanket on the couch.  
>The moon was shining from the window behind Gintoki's workspace, giving off a slightly pale, bluish light; makes me think vastly of loneliness. I turned over, closing my eyes. I tossed and turned on the couch, but I couldn't bring myself to fall asleep.<br>Sighing, I got up from the couch and stepped out. I sat by the steps and thought about the others back at home. "I hope Flying Mint Bunny is okay without me." I said to myself, yawning. "And, of course, America..." After that, I couldn't remember ever actually falling asleep.

The next day, I woke up back on the couch. I wondered how I ever got there when I noticed Gintoki lying down on the couch across from me. (Obviously, reading JUMP.) He looked over at me and said, "Well, well, looks like Mr. Flying Mint Bunny is awake. Sleep well?"

"Flying Mi...You were eavesdropping on me last night, weren't you?" I growled, not even realizing just how red I have gotten.

"Eh?" the silver-haired wanker smirked. "I was only joking, Arthur-kun~!"

He put a childish honorific after my name! What sort of play is this he pulling off? "I beg your pardon?"

"Oi, oi." he said to me. "Relax. I was just teasing. By the way, I had to take you inside last night. It's not good to be out in the cold like that. You know, you could get really sick."

I simply rolled my eyes. "As much as I want to hear you mummy me about my health, is there any way you could help me with my problem?"

"Good morning!" a familiar voice rang out. It was Shinpachi.

"Good morning. You seem like you're in a pretty good mood today." I told him.

"Yes, I am." he tells me. "But, sometimes with them it's a different story..." When he said them, I assumed it has something to do with Gintoki and the other people we ran into yesterday.

"So, is there anything you guys do around here?"

"We usually just sit here all day and wait for clients to show up, then we go help them out. But, I'm not so sure about your case, Arthur-san."

"Oh, that's completely alright. My place isn't going anywhere."

"So the TARDIS is broken?" Gintoki decided to add in.

"What th-Would you quit that!" I grabbed the pillow I was sleeping on and was batting it in his face. "Enough of your Doctor Who reference jokes and be serious for once!" I sighed. Must I seriously be fighting like this; in the morning? Oh. I haven't had my tea yet. "If you'll excuse me, gentleman, I'll go make myself some tea." I said as I stood.

"Arthur-san, that won't be necessary."

I blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

Shinpachi stood up and headed for the kitchen. "I'll make us some tea."

"Thank you." I said to him.

After tea, I placed my cup down and stood, fixing my yukata. If I was to stay here for the time being I might as well get comfortable and have a better look at the place.  
>Gintoki and the others looked up almost immediately.<p>

"Where are you going, Arthur-san?" Shinpachi asked.

"Just thought I'd go for a walk. Yesterday's tour didn't go very well. So, I just thought I'd go sight-seeing on my own."

"Hmm..." Gintoki thought. He stuck a pinky into his ear and began digging. Disgusting.

"It might be dangerous. Here." He clipped on a leash and handed it to me. "Take this." On the other end of the leash, was the large, white dog; Sadaharu.

"Gintoki, what the hell is this?"

"A dog." he shrugged. "You have one where you're from, right?"

"Well, of course I have dogs in my time! I'm wondering why the hell you're giving him to me!"

"It's too dangerous to go alone, Arthur-kun. Take Sadaharu with you."

This guy must be some kind of idiot or something. Is he serious? He could just be making me walk his dog so he wouldn't. Such a lazy bum! Forget it. Arguing, with this git, will get me nowhere.

"Fine, fine." I gave in. "I'll take him with me. But, if he gets on my shoes, you're gonna get it." I opened the door and to my surprise, stood a woman with green hair pulled back into a braid. She was wearing a blue kimono and a white apron. Her brown eyes immediately met mine. She was holding up a black cloth tied into a little bow. "Arthur-sama," she said. "I am Tama. I work in Otose-sama's snack bar. I was told to deliver this to you." she held up the bundle and I took it from her hands.

"Thank you."

She nodded and descended down the stairs. I noticed she had on a pair of headphones or something. What was it Japan called it; Vocaloids or something? I closed the door shut and looked back at the others.

"Is she new or something? I haven't seen her before."

"That's Tama-san. She's a robot we found out by the trash. She's pretty helpful around Otose-san's place." Shinpachi explained.

"I see," I sat down and decided to open up the cloth to see what she sent me. As I opened it up, the first thing I spotted was a little card with a note on it. I started to read:

_Arthur-san,_

_I thought it would be easier if you went around comfortably, so I got your clothes washed. Don't get it dirty._

_Because, I'll only do this once._

_-Otose_

I flipped the card over and got an extra note:

_P.S. I kept your wallet safe from Catherine. Also, since Gintoki is such a poor idiot that only spends his cash on JUMP and sweets, I thought I'd lend you some cash. Don't spend it all in place. And, don't worry about paying me back. Gintoki still owes me._

I smiled to myself and pulled out my clothes from inside and went over to the bathroom and changed. I stepped out of Gintoki's place, feeling a lot better than I have. I missed wearing my green sweater vest. I liked the yukata. It was quite comfortable, but I was glad to be back.

"Take care, Artie, aru!" Kagura shouted to me. Again with the nicknames. But, she sounded a bit like China with that last part.

I resisted the urge of scowling at her and shouting, "It's Arthur!" But, she was a young lady and I thought better of it. That's not what gentlemen do. And as such, I am going to try my best to get used to it.

Instead, I just smiled and said: "I'll be back soon."

I closed the door and went out; Sadaharu, trailing besides me. We descended down the stairs and spotted Tama. She was sweeping out front. I waved as she looked up, slowing to a stop. I waved to her and she responded with a nod then continued with her work. I walked past the snack bar and began to take a stroll.

Before I could take another step forward, something had blown up five feet from where I stood. An audible laugh was heard. The same man from yesterday popped out of the alleyway, the man in the duck costume ran behind him and before I knew it, they were being chased by the authorities again. As it turns out, the two officers from the other day were chasing after them. The black-haired male, who was called "Katsura", spat something vulgar their direction and headed northbound. I stood there watching for a moment and looked at Sadaharu, who was looking at me also. I looked back up and remained quiet. After a moment, I finally spoke up. "Well, Sadaharu, what should we do today?"


	4. Chapter 4

~Gintoki's pov~  
>Just what is Arthur, anyway? He just suddenly shows up and I end up getting a job. It's nice having him around, but I hope he has enough dough on him. After his tea, he stood up to fix his yukata.<br>"Where are you going, Arthur-san?"  
>Shinpachi asked.<br>"Just thought I'd go for a walk. Yesterday's tour didn't go very well. So, I just thought I'd go sight-seeing on my own."  
>I gave him Sadaharu for protection. It seems as if didn't like the idea. But, he eventually gave in. Sucker. He went and opened the door and there stood Tama. She gave him something that was bundled up in cloth. He accepted it, thanked her and then closed the door. He sat down; keeping his eyes glued to the cloth and started to open it. I watched him take his time. It was then that he froze for a moment. At first I thought he was broken, but I saw him flip a note over seconds after. Whatever was inside that note made him smile; seemed a bit odd. I'm surprised he even knows how to smile. It had only been three days and he was shouting throughout. I watched him stand and walk on over to the bathroom. So, I sat back down and continued to read my JUMP; turning a page over.<br>After a moment, the bathroom opened and there stood the blonde in an outfit completely different from the one he wore. It looks new. Was he going on a date? And why did he look so happy? Why did the old lady send him this; is he going on a date; A rendezvous? Who's he off to see?  
>Once he walks out that door, I'm going after him. As soon as I thought of this idea, Arthur speaks up, "I'll be back soon." He then, disappeared behind the door.<br>I made this my chance to head out ad well. "Well, I think I'll head out, too." And I stood.  
>Shinpachi looked up at me and blinked. "Gin-san, where do you think <em>you're<em> going? What if we have a client coming?"  
>"There's a possibility one will show, and one will not. Highest chance of there being one..." I trailed off.<br>"Well, how do you know that?" he asked.  
>I stared at him blankly and told him, "I don't. I was just trying to make a point to make this conversation really interesting."<br>"Eh? THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?"  
>I stood up and put on my boots and headed out. "Bye, Shinpachi!" I waved without looking back.<br>"WAIT! Y-YOU AREN'T EVEN LISTENING, ARE YOU! HEY, GIN-SAN!" And I closed the door.  
>"Geez, early in the morning...".<br>I headed down the stairs and there was a sudden explosion. I wondered if Arthur got caught in that again. Afterwards, I just shrugged and decided to find him. But, on my way there, I decided to just take a break and have a parfait. I haven't even had any sweets in months! Don't judge me!  
>Sitting down with my parfait, I looked out the window. Usually by chance you just happen to glimpse up at the strangest times. Someone's crack is hanging out, an accident, or just plain finding your lover cheating right in front of your eyes. Of course, this only happens once every so often. Nowadays all you see is Zura hopping around with his business. (Katsura: It's not Zura, it's Katsura! And I am going to revolutionize our government by abolishing the Bakufu-) That's a cool story, Zura. Now as I was saying, all you see is Zura going about his business and the Shinsengumi after him each time. Coincidentally, I spotted Arthur by the window walking Sadaharu. He was easy to spot because of his clothes. He did look pretty troubled and I was wondering what was eating him. He held a book under his arm and walked past from where I sat by the window. He didn't look away nor did he meet my eyes. Just what is it that's running through the guy's head?<p>

~Arthur's pov~  
>I was walking Sadaharu into town when I felt some kind of strange magic lifting from somewhere. I looked around to find it. As I advanced, I felt it grow stronger. I went even further and felt it grow weak. I strode back and tried to find it again. I felt it yet again and went into an all-out pursuit to find it.<br>Sadaharu and I began chasing after it. I'm pretty sure that this chase must just be some kind of game to him. But, he didn't seem to be messing around.  
>After what seemed like hours, I finally managed to find it, completely out of breath. Sadaharu was panting also. I headed towards the magic I was sensing. I didn't have a clue of what it was I was getting myself into, but I couldn't help but keep getting closer. The magic was even stronger than ever before. Just what is it?<br>The source of the magic was inside this rundown, abandoned Japanese-style house. Everything was in rags, dust sat on the shelves, as spiders made a home on every ceiling corner. Even the floors were dusty. Sadaharu sneezed as we began shifting all over the place. I continued my search into finding where the magic really came from. I walked into what seems to be the living room: there were only pillows lying around and a small table to the side of the room that was knocked over. There was no television set, so I assumed the person who was once here lived in poverty. Behind it were double doors and I noticed that there was a faint glow behind it. Curious, I went on over to it and tried pulling the door open. It was stuck. I tried to pull them apart, but made no progress. I decided to just take care of one door first. I took care of the door on the left and started to force it open. It was opening slightly, but still no luck.  
>I continued prying it open; suddenly a giant, white paw appeared right next to me. It turns out Sadaharu wanted to help me; so I let him. With a bit of effort, we got the door to open slightly and it started to loosen up a bit. I pushed at the other door and it moved. We were doing well so far.<br>After realizing there was no need for any more prying, I got the door open on my own. One door fell flat to the floor while the other door remained in one piece. I looked inside and at that instant a bright, light shone and nearly blinded me. Within seconds, it slowly faded dimly. I saw a magic circle on the wall by a skeleton; its grip tightly on a book. Was that... a spell book? I wasn't sure what it was, but I felt as if it was calling to me somehow. Like it /wanted/ me to take it.  
>I was about to reach for it, when a voice made me jump.<br>"At long last, you've come." I slowly turned to see the figure of a woman.  
>She looked quite young. She had skin like snow and her hair was tied into a neat bun, held together with a pair of chopsticks. Her kimono was pink and embroidered with golden butterflies. The sash was purple and had butterflies as well. She looked clean even. What's this wealthy woman doing in a rundown place like this?<br>"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" I replied.  
>"No. But, you are the one chosen to hold this book. Wield it well."<br>"What are you talking about?"  
>I wondered what was wrong with Sadaharu. He didn't bark or anything. It was like he <em>knows<em> we could trust her. Or... if he really was a stupid dog, after all.  
>"That book," she said. "That book chose many. But, none have lived to see the day."<br>"What are you saying?" I panicked a little. All of a sudden, I didn't want to know anything about the book the skeleton held in its arms. The book was well-preserved; even the spine was left unscathed.  
>"That book is cursed."<br>"C-Cursed?"  
>"Indeed," she nodded. "Cursed. Those who hold this book are forever cursed with its demise. That man was able to avoid his fate because he used a seal."<br>I looked over at the seal that still glowed from its spot. I frowned a bit, not wanting the same thing to happen to me. I wanted to just leave right then and there, but something kept making me want to stay; despite the curse that she was telling me. I wanted to know... what was so important about this book... about the curse behind it... what is it?  
>These questions needed answers, and I wanted just that. I reached for the book, but stopped. I turned to the woman, "On what circumstances is this book cursed?" I sounded determined on this. But I have to know... She flashed a smile and said, "Circumstances?" she echoed. "You pay a price."<br>I looked at her suspiciously. "What price?"  
>"Death."<br>She had said it so plainly; I felt the air from my lungs die. And, my heart stopped. I could almost feel myself close to fainting, but I held my ground. I needed more than just that.  
>"Of course," she continued, "once the book is in your care, there is no turning back."<br>"Is there any other way of stopping this curse from happening; like, to prevent me from dying; or to reverse it?"  
>"He is no longer with us." she said. "You cannot deny or reverse this curse. You are eternally linked to that book once you take it."<br>"If for instance, I take the book, and I don't want the curse, can I get rid of it?"  
>"You can. But, unless you were able to take another's life."<br>Take... No, no. No, I couldn't. Maybe, I could take the book and not use it? No, that wouldn't be right. But, what are the odds of the curse to be just a rouse and no one would die? What sort of logic am I rambling about? Think, Arthur, think! Pick something...  
>I reached over to the skeleton and took the book. It didn't require that much effort; it slipped completely out of his clutches. Once I did that, the seal immediately disappeared, and no magic was longer sensed. I looked back; the woman was gone.<p>

Sadaharu and I stepped out into the sun once again. It felt good to be out of there. I felt terribly uncomfortable in that area. I breathed in the city's air and sighed. I glanced at the book under my arm, then up at Sadaharu, who was also looking back.  
>"Well, old chap; let's not go around telling everyone what happened. Of course, no one is going to believe us, any way."<br>The dog yipped in response. I gave him a pat on the head and we continued our walk to the town.  
>After what felt like an hour, we passed by a diner and I realized that I haven't even eaten yet. It was almost time for tea. I looked over at Sadaharu and wondered if he was also hungry.<br>We would've gone even further, but someone called out to us.  
>"Oi!" the voice called out. "Oi, Arthur-kun. Where are you going?"<br>Gintoki. I turned around and looked at him.

~Both povs~  
>England had his eyes glued to the book. He took a sip of his tea and flipped a page over. <em>These spells. I-I can't read them... Well, I suppose that curse was all for nothing.<em> He admittingly sighed out of relief.  
>"Just what are you reading that's so interesting?" Gintoki was leaning forward, trying to catch a glimpse.<br>"What the bloody hell are you doing?" England glared and pulled the book away.  
>"Hey, I was just curious." the samurai shrugged. "Besides you haven't even touched your food."<br>England blinked and looked at his plate. It had been at least five minutes since he had been looking at the book; he had forgotten to eat his food. He blushed, bright red and looked away, grumbling. "S-Sorry." he picked up a fork and started to eat.  
>Gintoki reached over and took the book and leafed through it. "Can you even read this stuff?"<br>"No, but I can't say I've seen it before. It looks familiar..."  
>"Hmm..."<br>"What?"  
>"Where the hell did you find this?"<br>England started to pick at his food.  
>"It's, uhm, a long story..." he muttered.<br>Gintoki stopped and looked the Brit in the eye. "Try me."  
>"Uhmm... C-Can it wait?" I don't know if I should talk about here..." England said with uncertainty.<br>Gintoki nodded in consideration and let him finish his food.

Afterwards, they were walking back to Gintoki's office and England had just finished his story about the book.  
>"...And, that was pretty much how I got it."<br>Gintoki nodded, getting every word even though he didn't quite understand why. Even though, England was his temporary client, he didn't have a clue in the world about him. He had only learned his name and other things, but not like this. Not intimately. He had only been here for several days and yet here he is opening up to a complete stranger.  
>"A curse, huh?" the silver-hair said. "Personally, I don't think curses are that scary. I've seen worse. Better yet, I've experienced it. I don't believe in curses. The only curse we all have is to exist. There's nothing worse than greedy humans."<br>"Gintoki..."  
>He looked over at the Brit and smiled. "Keep that book. Whether or not that curse is real or a fake, use that book when you really need it. If you want to protect the person that's important to you, take it. You'll never know; I mean that curse could probably just whither and die away."<br>I looked at him, then down at the book. I frowned, looking down and finding an interest in my shoes. I wanted to believe his words. I did. But, something inside of me was thinking otherwise. Maybe the curse is true and what if I do die? How would the others find out? Will they just forget? What of America; and my brothers? How will they manage? I don't know what to do...  
>I was close to tears until I felt a huge lick on my face. I looked up and saw Sadaharu panting. It almost looked as if he was smiling. He made a little whine and licked again. I think he was trying to comfort me. I normally would have been disgusted and pushed him away, but I was so upset that I didn't mind it at all.<br>"Look, Arthur." Gintoki said. "I know what you're thinking, but you shouldn't go there alone. I've been through many hardships and yet still pull through. We all do. But, don't think it's the end of the world just because you've been cursed." he gave me a smile. "Just put up a smile and live your life to the fullest. It's better to die knowing people, than die not knowing any at all."  
>One thing's for sure, no one has ever told me that; no one at all until now. In the past, when America fought for his independence, all I wanted nothing more than what was best for him. He eventually got his independence, all because I broke down. Till that day, even now, I always doubted. I know I'm overreacting and people have always told me that it was in the past and that I should forget about it. But, it's not easy forgetting; it's hard when you end up going back to it. At times like this I would've just snapped and walked away from him, but I didn't. Pushing people away was always something I've done many times before. This time, all that's starting to change ever since I had gotten stuck here.<p>

"We're back!" Gintoki exclaimed, closing the door.  
>"Welcome back," Shinpachi greeted them.<br>"Eh?" Gintoki blinked. "Where's Kagura-chan?"  
>"She went to buy more sukonboku." he replied. "She probably won't be long."<br>Arthur gave Sadaharu a little pet before going into the kitchen and making some tea.  
>"Uhm, Arthur-san." Shinpachi blinked.<br>"Yes, Shinpachi?"  
>"Didn't you just have tea this morning?"<br>"And he did have tea in the afternoon." Gintoki put in. "Hey, Arthur, when do you plan on quitting?"  
>And with that joke, England had finally snapped. "Oh, would you quit that? I can't go on one day without you aren't being a total idiot!"<br>"Welcome to my world," Shinpachi sighed.  
>Gintoki approached the Brit giggling. "Aw, come on, Arthur-kun! I was just joking!" he said, putting his arms around the man's neck.<br>Shinpachi blinked and watched them from the living room. "Uhmm..."  
>"Get off you, bloody wanker!" he shouted, shaking him off. "Why the devil are you so damn clingy all of a sudden? Get off!"<br>"Did... something happen today?"  
>Shinpachi wondered, watching the two.<br>Arthur had decided to leave the kitchen on account of Gintoki actions and just left the tea untouched. "You are seriously getting on my nerves, what the hell is with you? Get off!"  
>Gintoki looked as if he was mbeing dragged, not clinging to. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Wait! Wait! My sword! My sword! You're clinging to my sword!"<br>"What the hell are you talking about; I am not clinging to anything! You are!"  
>Arthur turned and saw that his sweater vest was stuck to the hilt of Gintoki's sword.<br>"What the-?" Arthur accidentally took a step backwards; Gintoki stumbling forward and the two fell over.  
>"GIN-SA-!"<br>The door suddenly flew open and in came Kagura from the outside.  
>"I'M BACK!" she exclaimed, suddenly blinked at Gintoki who was on top of Arthur laying on the table while Shinpachi stood there awkwardly; the boy's jaw nearly touching the ground.<br>"Uh... Uhm..." Gintoki blinked. "Welcome home, Kagura-chan."

* * *

><p>Chapter 4 seems kinda, "eh" in my opinion. But, like I said; if there is something I have messed up on, let me know I'll fix it whenever I can. And, thanks for getting this far in the chapter! -bows- And, plus it gets better in the later chapters. What's a little bit of comedy mixed in with a bit of action? Heh. Well, I won't be spoiling anything for you guys any time soon. Besides, if I did, where's the fun if you didn't read it? The next chapter or so might be about England trying to get around to using, the book, but who knows. Anyways, shiiki out~! ;D<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

~Gintoki's pov~  
>"Welcome home, Kagura-chan." I greeted her, despite my awkward position on Arthur.<br>She got angry and started freaking out. "WHAT IS THIS FUCKERY?" she screamed out.  
>"WHAT FUCKERY? WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU LEARNING THIS STUFF!" I shouted back.<br>"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YAOI? ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE YOU GUYS MY OTP, RIGHT! IS THAT RIGHT? HUH!"  
>"YAOI? OTP! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO YELLING ABOUT?" Shinpachi shouted than the rest of us. "I THOUGHT THERE WAS NONE OF THAT HERE?"<br>"Relax, Shinpachi-kun!" I said to him. "This is merely fan service! Every anime has one."  
>"THIS IS NOT ANIME, IT'S A FANFIC! THERE'S A DIFFERENCE!"<br>"We're just anime put into a fic. Relax, Shinpachi."

I felt a really hard push and nearly stumbled backwards. I looked over and saw that Arthur was glaring at me. He got up off the table and brushed himself off. Grumbling, he added: "Yaoi, fan service. Hmph. If I wanted to be in a Yaoi, you wouldn't be my first choice."  
>"Maybe if you're drunk."<br>Silence. And, then the whole place rang with a loud slap. Arthur was sitting down drinking his tea again. While I... Huh? My face feels kinda warm. Ow! It hurts to poke it.  
>Shinpachi just stared. "Gin-san, you need to quit touching it. Even though, you did deserve it."<br>"Oi!" a familiar voice rang out. "Odd Jobs, you in?"  
>Turns out it was just Hijikata of the Shinsengumi. What a surprise. I wonder what he wants.<br>"Rude," Arthur spoke up. "At least knock before you enter."  
>Hijikata looked his direction then at me. He did this a couple times before speaking up again.<br>"Hmph," he smirked. "Didn't think you'd go for someone like this; just what we would expect from some like you."  
>"Look, if you only came here to insult me, you can just leave." I told him a bit agitated.<br>"I do have a bit of information for you that I'm willing to let you in on."  
>He walked in and sat down without any consent whatsoever. But, what can you do with the Demon Vice Captain of the Shinsengumi. What an idiot.<br>"Have you heard of the 'pages of despair'?" he asked.  
>"'Pages of Despair'... I'm not sure what you mean."<br>"A maroon-colored book with gold pages. It had a gold serpent labeled at both ends of the book. Any way, it's an old book dating back to the 18th Century. I hear it carries a curse." Hijikata explained.  
>"A... Curse?" Shinpachi echoed.<br>I slowly turned my gaze towards Arthur to make sure he was listening; and I understanding. I noticed that he wasn't even paying attention nor was he even in the room. It was like, he disappeared or something. I turned my attention back to the Vice Captain, seeing as how he didn't notice, continued on with his explanation.  
>"Rumors say the person holding it makes a contract to the death. It wields a mysterious power that only the user could unlock. No one knows what's in the book. But, it could only be read if the user really wishes to use it. I hear it was hidden in an old, rundown shack. When we went to check it out, there was nothing but dust and an old skeleton; it was pretty diminished with sand we couldn't make out what the person was. And it seems as if someone had already been there. We noticed a bit and saw giant foot prints that led us here."<br>"And you think we're behind it?" I laughed. Arthur had explained to me it was him that got into that place and he and Sadaharu were behind it and that he took that book. There was no way I could ever rat him out. Even of my own life was depending on it. I had to get him home. No matter what happens.  
>"That's a laugh, Sadaharu was probably wandering around some place! Y-You know how dogs are!"<br>"H-Hey, your brow is sweating." he said.  
>"What!" I laughed. "Wh-what sweat? Th-That was from splashing my face with tea! Yeah!"<br>"Tea? Your face should be burned by then."  
>"ANYWAYS, it was nice seeing you, Hijikata- kun! Have a nice day!" I said as I was pushing him out the door. "Tell your friends about us! Bye!"<br>Slamming the door shut, I went back on the couch to finish reading my JUMP. It stayed silent for a few minutes until Shinpachi had spoken up again.  
>"What was that all about, Gin-san?" Shinpachi blinked.<br>"No clue," I turned a page of the JUMP, being at least halfway through. "But, I don't see what this has to do with us."

It was already sunset by the time shops and restaurants were closing. Otose usually opens up her snack bar at this hour.  
>"Well, I'll be going now. Goodbye, Gin-san, Kagura-chan."<br>"Goodnight, Shinpachi." Kagura and I greeted.  
>"Hey, where has Arthur-san been, any way?"<br>"Not sure. He left when Hijikata showed up."  
>"Now that you mention it, is Arthur-san afraid of Hijikata-san?"<br>"Hmm, I doubt it. He probably doesn't want to see him since he put him behind bars."  
>"That does make sense. Well, tell him good night when he comes back." And with that, Shinpachi left.<br>"Where did he go, anyhow. And how DID he leave?" I scratched my head and looked around for him.

~England's pov~  
>"Hey!" I know that voice. "Odd jobs, you in?"<br>Damn. That officer again. Can't he learn how to knock? People around here are so uncivilized. I walked up to him irritatingly and said, "Rude. At least knock before you enter."

He looked at Gintoki, looking him over then looked over at me. He did this a couple times before speaking up again.  
>"Hmph," he smirked. "Didn't think you'd go for someone like this. Just what we would expect from some like you."<br>I was taken aback. How rude! I would never want to be interested in that git even if he was the last ma-even if my life depended on it! I swear I had the urge to hit him, but I made sure to keep my cool to avoid going back to that jail cell. Oooh...  
>"Look, if you only came here to insult me, you can just leave." I heard Gintoki say a bit defensively.<br>"I do have a bit of information for you that I'm willing to let you in on."  
>The Demon Vice Chief walked past me and sat down. He didn't wait to be seated on account of how this was obviously pretty serious. I watched him along with the others. The least I could do was hear him out.<br>He made eye contact with Gintoki and asked him: "Have you heard of the 'pages of despair'?"  
>"'Pages of Despair'... I'm not sure what you mean." I heard Gintoki answer.<br>"A maroon-colored book with gold pages. It had a gold serpent labeled at both ends of the book."  
>I gasped silently to myself, sneaking the book out to take a peek. Bloody hell! I felt a shiver go down my spine; the book was exactly how he described it. It was almost scary...<br>"Any way, it's an old book dating back to the 18th Century. I hear it carries a curse." Hijikata continued.  
>I couldn't take it anymore. While they were distracted the I carried the book into my arms; put on my shoes and fled out the door quickly, but quietly.<br>"A... Curse?" I heard Shinpachi 's voice echo out from behind the doors. "Rumors say the person holding it makes a contract to the death. It wields a mysterious power that only the user could unlock. No one knows what's in the book. But, it could only be read if the user really wishes to use it..." I couldn't bear to hear anymore. It was too much to take.  
>I needed some place to think. I looked around for some kind of salvation... Anything to get me away from here.<br>I walked away from the door and decided to head for the roof. I had been up there for God-knows-how long and ended up falling asleep under the Kabukichou sunlight.  
>I was then woken up by a slam of the door. I looked around and noticed hat it was already sunset. How long was I up here? Then, I heard:<br>"...Well, tell him good night when he comes back."  
>Shinpachi? How long was I up here? "Arthur-kun!" I heard Gintoki calling. "Arthur-kun, the Demon vice Chief didn't make you shit yourself now, did he?"<br>The nerve of him! I sat up abruptly and shouted. "There was no way he could scare me! That hard-headed bloody git! Get your facts straight before saying that, you wanker!"  
>I had blushes a bright red and noticed a few passersby looking me over and some had actually stopped and looked at me. I just smiled and waved at them and just like that, they just went off and continued with their business as if nothing happened. Strange things must happen here often, that's why they didn't seem to mind it. I had heard the door close and hear footsteps. It must've been Gintoki. I took out the book and made it seem like I was occupied, staring contented at the pages. I still couldn't read it, though.<br>"Oi!" I heard him call out. He had climbed up the roof, a cherry Popsicle in his mouth. "So this is where you've been hiding. How long have you been up here?" He made his way and sat next to me. He held up a white plastic by my neck. I suddenly jumped, startled by the sudden chill. "The bloody hell are you doing?"  
>I wiped the cold from my neck and looked at him.<br>"Popsicle?"  
>"Uhmmm... You can have it."<br>"I insist." he said, pushing it to my cheek this time.  
>I sighed exasperatingly, "You're not gonna make this easy for me, are you?"<br>He shook his head. "Nope," he said, "Besides, I'm already up here and those were the only two left in the box."  
>Sighing, I eventually gave in and took it from him. I opened the plastic and stared at the popsicle and blinked. I was surprised they had this in the future... It was a red, white and blue. The frozen treat was described in that order; from top to bottom. Quite frankly, it made me miss home a little bit. I wondered when I was going back.<br>I felt a light nudge on my shoulder and looked at Gintoki. He sighed and looked back at me. "You know, that won't stay frozen for long."  
>I looked back at the Popsicle "Hmm... Yes, thank you." I knew popsicles melt or have I actually eaten them. They didn't taste as bad as I had imagined. We sat there in silence, eating until Gintoki had spoken up. "What are doing up here, anyway?"<br>I was half way finished when he had asked me that. "I needed to be alone for a bit."  
>"Took you long enough to make yourself known to us. Shinpachi was looking for you."<br>"He was? I didn't know. I feel asleep up here."  
>"Sleeping on the roof. How does that feel, anyway?" he wondered. "It gets pretty hot up here. I'm surprised you didn't burn to a crisp up here."<br>"For your information, it wasn't 300 degrees out here." I told him.  
>"Quite the contrary, I happen to think you can't take the heat?"<br>"It's crazy hot out here during the summer, that's for sure."

"Now, that I can relate to." I agreed matter-of-factly.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, well, technically it wasn't exactly the next day. I was only lying down on the couch just thinking. I am just about tired of lying on this same old couch every night. But, most of the time, I'm just tired of thinking. I glanced over at the book every now and then. What's so important about that book that everyone's after. Besides, the contract… what else could it be? Were the pages hiding something?

It was obviously handed down through the centuries, and well-preserved. I wonder… just how many people had used that book before I did…

That woman's features were still fresh in my memories…. But, just who is she? These questions just gave me more questions and answers and added up to even more problems. I need to get out of here to clear my head. I thought to myself as I stood from the couch and straightened out my clothes. I reached over to the table and grabbed the book. I waited for a moment. It was dead silent. I had to make sure they were asleep in case they thought I was going to leave—which, I was, but not to find my way back home. I needed to know what it was that this book had that everyone wanted answers to. But, I won't look through it here.

I looked at every page and yet, I haven't found a single thing about it that had any significance relating to what that Shinsengumi officer was explaining and to what that woman was talking about. It was just a bunch of jumbled up letters and symbols to me. But, I couldn't read them. Not a single word of it. Whatever was in there, I'm going to try to find out for myself before someone else does; despite the book being in my care.

I set out alone to go see what the book was all about. Whether or not I had any information, I was determined to know the secret behind it even though it may as well be under my nose for all I care. But, it was better to be safe than sorry.

I gathered my shoes and put them on. Little did I know that the closet door had opened and out Sadaharu went. I heard huge, soft footprints and they stopped directly behind me. I turned and saw the huge ball of fur staring at me. I blinked at him and stood.

"What is it?" I asked him quietly, not wanting to wake up the others.

Sadaharu sat down and stared at me with something in his mouth.

"What's that? Give it here."

I held out my hand and he opened his mouth, a leash dropped into my palm. I stared for a long moment before looking back at him.

"You want to go for a walk?"

"Arf!" he barked in reply.

I flinched and placed a finger over my lips.

"Shhhh... You'll wake everyone up!"

He whined a bit sadly. I gave him a pat on his head and flashed a smile.

"Tell you what; I'll take you with me but not a single peep from you until we're out of here. Is that a deal?"

I was making a bargain with a dog. Is this making sense anymore? I have been in this year for too long. It's affecting me.

Sadaharu panted and nodded in response.

"Good boy." I said petting him. His fur was quite silky, just how often do they bathe him?

We were finally out of Gintoki's office and walked past Otose's bar. Things were doing well so far. If I could get to walking Sadaharu I could be able to find the time to look through the book for anything. I wonder what could be in it...

I space out every time that woman comes to mind. Who is she? I felt a huge tug on my wrist and soon I realized that I was literally flying.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

I screamed as I flew through the air, grabbing hold of the leash as Sadaharu walked me instead. But, it looked more like concrete skiing if you asked me.

"SADAHARUU! I'M STILL ON HERE! STOP!"

Sadaharu just wouldn't listen and turned a corner. I gasped as I noticed I was closing in on a pole. I closed my eye and waited for the impact. And then, nothing. I opened one eye to peek and the last thing I could see was an opening and a set of swings.  
>I guess we're at the park. I saw Sadaharu make a stop and I ended up flying again when I had let go of the leash.<p>

The only thing I remember was the sand box and blacked out for a bit.  
>I was woken up by one of the bums and they asked if I was homeless, too. Of all the-Well, there are people like these here back in London... So I don't have room to complain.<p>

I explained to the man that I wasn't and left him a small bit of cash Otose gave me. He thanked me generously with a tight hug and left. Oh, I hope he doesn't give me lice. I stood up and brushed the sand away from my clothes. Sadaharu walked up to me, the book in his mouth. I have to admit, he looked quite adorable when he tilts his head like that. Such a curious creature this one is.

I retrieved the book and made my way down to sit on a bench while Sadaharu began running around the wide, open space the park had.

I opened the book and there were the pages. I closed the book and looked about it. Looking at it a second time, I noticed it was exactly how that officer described it; a serpent at both ends. And the pages: pure gold. He had explained it so well; it was unbelievable that it was really in my hands. It was practically frightening. I decided to do a little more digging while I had the privacy.

I scanned the park to see if there were any curious on-lookers about from the get-go ready to snatch the book out of my hands and use it for their own selfish purposes.  
>I opened the book and decided to read a page. To my surprise, it wasn't like anything I've ever seen before much less read it.<p>

...ΣİÄØYĘWΔΟΔΔΩÈCÂTŒÅVİŪÜĖÕCŠXĒÜΘĀÊRÚÖMSXYZ...

What in the world...?

"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed. "I can't read a single damn word except 'XYZ'! Is this really from the old era or was this some alien plot? I don't understand! And... Is some of these Greek?" I sighed. It sounded pretty hopeless.

I put the book down and looked up at the sky. Sometimes I wonder what sort of thing this blue sky sees. Especially, through time... While this whole world is changing, the clouds are at a standstill. They shift from place to place; form various shapes and sizes without a care in the world. They aren't alive, but they've witnessed many hardships, seen war and all its 'glory'. Sadly, it seemed more like hell to those who have been through it. I've had my share in war stories. Some still hurt me; even to this day still haunt me in my dreams.

I thought about these things and curled up from all the pain it inflicted upon me. I felt tears gushing down my cheeks. They were warm and moist as they rushed down my chin as well as the corners of my lips. It tasted salty.

Sadaharu may have sensed my sadness. I heard him walking over and gently pawed at me. I looked over and gazed into his huge, brown eyes; the tears, still fresh continued to roll down my cheek. The pup tried to lick off the tears, instead, licked my whole face. Normally, I would've gotten angry and shouted, but I wasn't in the mood to feel grouchy as well as angry. This dog was trying his best to comfort me. I didn't want to push him away. I smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the head. He nuzzled his head onto my lap. I chuckled softly and continue to pet him.

"You have nice fur, Sadaharu." I told him.

He barked in response and licked my hand.

"I'll take that as a 'thank you'. So, you're welcome." I scratched behind his ear and his tail wagged vigorously. I laughed at the sight. He truly was an adorable chap I'll admit. I wasn't so much a fan of dogs, big ones more or less.

We spent nearly the whole afternoon at the park. Sadaharu was too big for all the play structures. (Plus, I didn't want to pay for anything broken and to have Otose or Gintoki to take care of it.)

After one last game of fetch, Sadaharu and I decided it was time to go home. He had the stick- or should I say, tree branch, deciding to take it home with him. I put his leash back on and grabbed the book that, surprisingly, was still on the bench where I left it. I felt a nudge behind me and looked at Sadaharu, who was staring back at me. He leaned forward and looked up at me. I blinked and decided to try my best to guess. And I guess he wanted me to get in his back.

"You want me to get on?" I had asked him.

"Arf!" came the response and he waited till I got on.

"Oh, alright." I smiled. "If you insist."

I got on his back and he stood. He looked over at me and wagged his tail. I giggled and patted his head.

"Come on, now, tally ho!" I told him. He barked and made his way out the park.

I watched as he stopped to examine a bug. It was, of course, small and bright green. I didn't know what it was until it flew away; a dragonfly. I didn't think this timeline had any left. I was surprised there was hardly any at all. After it had disappeared from eyesight, Sadaharu resumed walking again.

Still, I can't help but wonder why there was strong magic lingering here. It was strange; usually with magic this strong, something would have appeared and I would've sensed it in seconds. But, there were none. Could there be something blocking off access to all the magical creatures? Or could there be some sort of strong magic hidden and it was sealed to ward away anything to make it fall to the wrong hands? Whatever it was, it was going to haunt me.

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><p>Sorry, loves! Shiiki here! Took me a while to start updating again. I was planning on working on another fic much different from this. The reason for my hiatus is the fact that I had adult school and I didn't have time to work on this fic. Plus, I finally graduated! UGHHH! Third time truly is the charm. Staying after just to complete missing assignments is a pain! Stay in school, kids. Shiiki out!<p>

(I also made a few edits thanks to one of my readers. I am always open to opinions and will go with the changes suggested.)

P.S. I will make sure to start updating often whenever I have free time and when college doesn't eat that extra time, which sadly, it might. But, for my readers… if they are still here. I thank you guys for putting up with me and my absence as well as my procrastinating. -bows- I'll try my best to keep updating whenever I can! I love you guys and have a great day!


	7. Chapter 7

OOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYGGOOOOOOOODDDDDDDD ! It's been FOREVER, guys! How have you been? Are you still here! Are you still reading this fic? I hope you still are because you are in for a treat! My brain kinda died... Like... forever ago! Plus, I was kinda busy with some college stuffs, too. I'm moving around August, so I'll try my best to give you more chapters as soon as possible. I should give you guys four chapters since I left you guys with chapter six in a long run. I am so sorry about that. But, don't worry! I have a new chapter made just for you! Took a while, huh? Sorry for abandoning you guys for this long. ;n; I just got hit by another idea. I just remember an episode, so that's going to be a start for chapter seven. It is now, Gintoki's POV that I need to work on. Again, I apologize for the long-term hiatus. It's not easy when you get distracted for almost a year.

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><p>I guess rereading my fic was a good idea. Along with watching nearly almost every season of Gintama. (Which, I am almost done with, btw! And plan on rewatching soon.) It's so good to be back, guys! Now, on with the long and awaited, chapter 7! Enjoy! :3<p>

~Gintoki's POV~

I just had the strangest dream. But, right when I woke up, I forgot. Do you ever get those dreams where you wake up and you have not a single clue of what happened? Well, that's what I ended up with; a forgotten dream. Is it a sign that your mind doesn't like what you dreamt about and decided, "Hey! You have a weird dream now let's erase that, shall we? Now wake up so you can forget!" If only forgetting was that easy when you were awake or when you get completely wasted the night before and you don't even remember what happened when you find you're in someone else's bed when you actually have a wife or a husband. Wait. How did this get pretty deep and personal all of a sudden? Oh, forget it. I can't sleep anymore, anyway.

I was just about to step out my room when I hear Arthur from the other end. Who is he talking to ? I went over to investigate and opened my door a crack to take a little peek. All I saw was a huge ball of fur. Sadaharu? Where does he plan on taking him? What's Arthur up to? I placed my hand onto the door to step in, but before I managed to budge the door an inch, I heard Arthur's reply. "...I'll take you with me, but not a single peep from you until we're out of here. Is that a deal?" Is he seriously making a deal with a dog!? And he thinks we're the weirdoes. I chuckled softly as I heard him call Sadaharu a "good boy". It was true, but at times it wasn't. But, that was Sadaharu for ya. I only hope no one took that out of context. It didn't take long for Arthur and Sadaharu to walk out. Right as the door shut, I waited a moment before stepping out. I looked around, noticing he neatly folded the blanket he used with the pillow huddled in a small bundle to the side of the couch. He's pretty neat for a guy. Is that normal? For a guy who would clean his underwear, I guess it's no surprise. Wait. No. Don't look at me like that! I don't know if he cleans his underwear! No, wait, that's not that what I meant! I—oh, forget it. It's too early for this.

Since I was already up, I decided to start the day off and grab a toothbrush and start brushing my teeth. Right as I began brushing, I hear the door from outside open and close. After a few seconds, silence until Kagura entered the bathroom with a deep yawn. "Morning, Gin-chan."

I spat in the sink before greeting her back. "Mornin'."

She rubbed her eyes and looked at me from the mirror. "Gin-chan, have you seen Sadaharu? I woke up and he wasn't there. Have you seen him?"

"Eh?" I blinked up at her as I continued to brush my teeth. I spat once more before replying, "I think he left with Arthur a few minutes ago. I guess they decided to go for a walk together." I told her as she just got done washing her face. I finished up as Kagura dried her face with a towel before walking out.

"That's good, though." She said. "We never did spend any time with him."

"What? What's that supposed to mean? We do spend time with him!"

"Well, not like that, Gin-chan. I mean, taking him out for a walk and things like that."

"What do you mean!? I walked him!"

"That was about a week ago!"

"A week, a day, what difference does that make?"

We managed to separate for a bit to change out of our pajamas. Before sitting down in the living room. I would have turned on the TV, but Ketsuno doesn't show up this early. Oh, dammit. Can this day get any slower? I wanna see my Ketsuno. I went over to the kitchen and decided to peer into the fridge for anything to eat. Empty, except for a carton of strawberry milk, which I took from the fridge before closing it back shut before sitting back down. Perhaps, I can go drag Shinpachi grocery shopping with me today. There's nothing to do today. And that reminds me, while we're out I can snatch a new issue of JUMP that's out today.

I looked over and noticed Kagura tuning the channels on the television set, grumbling to herself with a bit of sukonbu in her mouth. What does she think about in that little, girly head of hers? Actually, what does any woman think about in their pretty little minds? I sighed to myself and looked up at the door, expecting Arthur and Sadaharu or Shinpachi to barge in. Better yet, we'd be lucky if we got a job this early in the morning. I chugged the milk carton, realizing there was at least half of it left. Ah, well. Good excuse to buy more. I shrugged and chugged every drop down before looking into the carton for anymore of the strawberry taste.

The closed up the carton before tossing it in the trash and with no effort, it touched the rim and fell to the floor. I didn't plan on picking up, so I just left it there and leaned back against my seat, staring up at the ceiling for a moment until the door swung open and a familiar voice chimed. "Good morning!"

Perfect timing! I got up out of my seat a bit too happily and turned around. "Pachi boy! Just the man I wanted to see! You're here early!" I said to him cheerfully.

"Uhm. Well, I'm always here early." Shinpachi said to me, a bit dully. "And you're usually asleep. What made you wake up so early? No, wait. Don't tell me. You're waiting for Ketsuno Ana to show up on TV, aren't you?"

"I... Well..." That was somewhat part of the truth. "Actually... I just thought we could go grocery shopping!"

"At this hour?" He blinked at me in disbelief. "As a matter of fact, when do you ever insist on taking me somewhere with you? Groceries, especially. Are you alright, Gin-san? Did you hit your head or something?" He gave me a sympathetic look as he placed his hand against my forehead. "You're not sick, are you?"

I shook my head away from him. "Knock it off. I'm fine." I said to him. "My fridge is empty and we have nothing to eat. Why else would I want to go out for groceries? Besides, the convience stores are open 24/7."

He wasn't very convinced about it. But, he shrugged and waited for me. "Alright. As long as I don't have to pay anything."

"You won't have to." I told him with a grin as I held up Arthur's wallet in my hand.

~England's POV~

I was just on my way back to Gintoki's place when I just remembered something. Where's my wallet? I began digging around my pockets for it. But, it was nowhere to be found. I cursed under my breath wondering just where the hell I put it. "I know it's in here somewhere..." I muttered to myself almost frantically as I bit my lip in thought. _Where could it be?_ How could I be so irresponsible? Where did I leave it? Did I drop it at the park? On the way there or...? My heart was racing; my adrenaline was flowing quickly right now. What would I do if I lost it? All the money Otose gave me... And, my pounds! I can't take this anymore. "Hey, Sadaharu. Do you think we could go back to the park? I may have dropped my—" I felt Sadaharu tilt a bit roughly as he bumped into someone when he turned. "Oh! S-Sorry!" I said as I looked up at a figure covered in a huge dark cloak, but he paid no heed to me and just kept going.

I stared at the figure as it continued to head down the street. Sadaharu started to walk back to the direction of the park as if nothing happened. Meanwhile, I looked back at the figure, but it was gone. I turned my back again. Was I just seeing things or did that just really happen? I looked back a few more times before Sadaharu began to pick up the pace, running back to the park.

As soon as we came back to the park, I looked everywhere I was at the time I may have lost it. I even checked the places I _may_ have lost it. The sandbox, I ran all over the grass with no luck, even Sadaharu decided to help me that was until I saw him biting on some kid's head. "S-Sadaharuuu!" ...Or not. I double checked the places again just in case I may have missed something. I also ran back the way Sadaharu dragged me. I was desperate to find it. I asked a few of the parkgoers and no one's seen it. Most of them doubted I would find it considering the number of homeless people that roamed Kabukicho. Strangely enough, I managed to find Hasegawa there as well. I tried asking him but, he happened to be absolutely delusional than the last time I saw him. Wonder what happened.

I went all around the park more than once and still nothing. I can't believe I could lose that. How on earth could I lose the bloody thing? This was a really big park. There could be somebody here that could've taken it. And if I was lucky, took it to the authorities. But, maybe they were right. Someone _could_ have taken it... I didn't want to believe it. So I decided to call Sadaharu back and we took a little trip to a station nearby.

"I'm sorry, sir. But, no one's come by with a wallet at all today."

"Oh, I see."

The officer may have sensed my anxiety and sighed. "Well, if anyone comes by I'll let you know. We could have someone send it to you if it's found. If you could if us an address we'll hand it to personally if you don't plan on dropping by the station."

"If you could, just send it to Odd Jobs."

"Odd Jobs?" He stared at me in disbelief. "Sir, in case you haven't noticed this, but Odd Jobs is a pretty weird place to go to for anything really. That place isn't as busy and if anyone needs something is probably not as often. Their boss is a bit of a downer and if there isn't a job all he does is loaf around. I wouldn't trust leaving your belongings there unless you want to come there to an empty wallet."

"I see.." I wasn't sure exactly what to say at this point. I was rather shocked, I couldn't believe Gintoki's place is getting some bad reviews. Of course, coming from the title of their name they are pretty odd. I suppose his place isn't as bad. And I'm sure if they did find my wallet, they wouldn't have to worry since I would be there and if not, surely Shinpachi would hold it for me. I mean, sure that police officer was kind enough to go out of his way to deliver my wallet to me. I just hope they do find it. But, what he said about Gintoki, though... I couldn't find any words since I haven't seen how he works yet.

"So... Are you sure you really want us to send it there?"

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Do you really want us to send it there?"

"Yes, I do. I don't exactly live here, per say."

"Ah! Are you traveling around, then?"

"I suppose you could say that. They were kind enough to at least let me stay there for a while."

"I see. So how long will you be staying here?"

"I'm not sure. It could be a while until I come back home."

"No wonder you don't look like the usual here. Foreigner?"

"I am, I guess."

"That's good. That's good to know Edo is known in other places as well. Welcome! Sorry about your wallet."

"There's no need for that. I'll be alright, officer. And, thank you."

"Take care of yourself now."

"I will. Have a good day."

Well that went well. I hung my head the whole way back, dragging my feet onto the dirt with Sadaharu trailing behind.

~Gintoki's POV~

Shinpachi and I just stepped out of the convience store. I sighed a breath of relief as I finally got a new issue of JUMP along with the other things I need. I also couldn't help it, but I also bought a box of strawberry pocky. What? I can't start the day without sugar.

On our way back, I happened to walk past some guy in a cloak. I looked up at him, but I couldn't make out his face because of that hood he has on. I noticed he dropping something so I stopped and knelt down to picked it up for him. It took Shinpachi to notice that I wasn't behind him, so he stopped in his tracks.

"Hmm? Gin-san?"

"Oi!" I called out to the man that past me. I saw him stop, but he didn't turn around. "You dropped this." I said as I held up the pack of cigarettes.

It took him a while, but he turned around and approached me. He didn't say anything, but he held out his hand as if wanting me to _hand_ him the cigarettes. I disregarded his odd gesture and placed the pack in his hand. I looked at his face but the hood gave off a shadow so the only thing I was able to see was the lower half of his face. His lips formed a smirk and he replied a simple "thanks" before turning away again.

"Gin-san. Who was that?" Shinpachi asked me curiously as he was looking back as well.

I shrugged and replied, "I haven't a clue, either."

Later as we were half way back home, I spotted Arthur just up ahead. He seemed upset about something, Sadaharu sitting right next to him. Shinpachi was the first to greet him.

"Arthur-san! Are you alright?" He sounded pretty worried about him, can't blame him either. I'd feel sorry for a guy if he had a constipated look on his face also.

"Oh, hello."

"Did something happen?" I decided to ask him. "You didn't get in trouble again, did you?"

"The only person that would cause trouble would be someone like you." Arthur said to me, bluntly. "I lost my wallet."

Shinpachi looked a bit surprised. "That is terrible. Are you sure you checked everywhere?"

"I did. I checked the park twice and no luck."

"Perhaps, Sadaharu must've eaten it."

"Don't be ridiculous, Gintoki! Sadaharu would never!"

"He'll eat anything. He managed to barf up an inflatable doll once."

Shinpachi just rolled his eyes and looked back at Arthur. "We could help you look. What does it look like?"

"Well, it's red, blue and white. The white lines intercept in a certain way, kind of like a white line going down a white X."

I noticed Shinpachi staring at me, blank-faced. "Gin-san. Do you know anything about this?"

"Eh!? Me!? Why do you ask?"

"Why...? You're asking me...why?" He suddenly got up and grabbed at my shirt. "YOU'RE THE ONE! YOU SAID THAT WAS YOURS! HOW COULD YOU JUST TAKE HIS WALLET WITHOUT HIM KNOWING!?"

"YOU TOOK MY WALLET!?"

"BE QUIET!" Another voice boomed into ours. I looked over and saw Otose. She didn't seem really happy. "I understand it's morning, but keep your mouths shut!" She shouted before slamming her door shut.

We stood there in silence for about a few minutes before quietly going back up the steps. Right as we reached the doorway, Kagura jumped out to greet us. She looked a bit anxious.

"Gin-chan! Shinpachi! Artie!"

"Kagura-chan, what's wrong?" Shinpachi asked her worriedly. It seemed pretty urgent because she was practically jumping around.

"Kagura! Mind breathing, first before you fall over?"

"I—uhm, Artie! There's something for you. Some guy dropped it off earlier. He said to give it to you as soon as possible!" She held up an envelope to him. It had no name or a return address. Does someone know he's here?

"I suppose I'll just open it inside. It looks urgent." Arthur said to her as he stepped inside.

I looked around descretely before following behind Shinpachi, sliding the door shut behind me. Something about this just doesn't seem right.

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><p>Omgosh! Hey, guys! It's been forever due to a long-term hiatus. (Forgive me! OTL) I'll try my best to continue with chapter 8. That's all for now. :3<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Here you are everyone! Chapter 8! I forgot to note in the last chapter that the officer Arthur was talking to was not a Shinsengumi officer, but a magistrate officer. Well, I don't know what the difference is, but if anyone has any clue I'd like to know.

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><p>~England's POV~<p>

I sighed to myself. I was feeling a bit of anxiety as I held the envelope in my hands. My hands were shaking, clutching it tightly. I wasn't sure if I wanted to open it, but at the same time I wanted to know who sent me this. Whoever might have sent me this, might know a way to take me back home. He might even still be here if I'm lucky. I suddenly jumped when Gintoki shouted a bit too enthusiastically. I decided to look back at what the other three were doing; maybe whatever they were so into I guess it might help get my mind off this thing.

"Just what are you shouting about over there?"

"Oh, Arthur-san. Have you opened it yet?" Shinpachi asked me. He sounded rather concerned; it did seem important but...

"I... Not yet." I couldn't bring myself to lie to him. I really want to open it, but at the same time something is telling me not to. The timing was just a bit off to me. But, why was it bothering me so much? Dammit...

"You should get to it soon. If they said it was urgent..."

"... The lucky sign for today's black horoscope is Taurus." Said a brunette with a charming smile from the television set.

"Taurus? That's my sign!" I replied excitedly. To be honest, I wasn't interested in these particular things, but I was a bit curious to what my horoscope will say.

"I know you aren't interested in this particular thing and curiosity is a good way of learning new things."

"Eh?"

"Of course! You with the dumb-founded face and large eyebrows!"

"Is she seriously making fun of my eyebrows!? And how does she know—"

"If you don't open that envelope soon, you may never find what you're looking for. It could be very important, so I suggest you open it now."

"..." I looked down at the envelope in dismay. How could she have known...? The only people that know about this are the very people in this room with me.

"Your lucky color for today is white. Just be very careful not to get it dirty or it won't look as clean."

"Oh, for the love of—I feel as if she is referring to underwear."

"And, a new addition to our black horoscope: your compatible sign today is Libra. It may be that way for a while, though. But, don't give your hopes up. Have a wonderful day!" The woman said before the TV switched to a commercial.

"How did she know about the envelope? All I know is that you three were the only ones I—"

"Ana Ketsuno is known for her horoscopes as well as the weather reports. Her horoscopes are also known for their accuracy. Plus, her smile is a lot brighter than the sun itself and to have her talking to you is news to me. I happen to..."

"Don't mind him, Artie; he tends to get like this when Ana Ketsuno is on. He always thinks she's talking to him through the TV." Kagura explained.

He seems to like her a lot to be talking about her that way. Gintoki has a crush on the weather girl. That's cute.

"But... To think I'm your compatible sign, that's new. Are you sure we're not just soulma—"

"**DON'T** even think of going there, Gintoki. I swear. Lucky color, though... White... But, there a lot of things that are white around me. Shinpachi's kimono, yours and even Sadaharu himself."

"Then, consider yourself very lucky."

"You won't be, considering that _you_ were the one who took my wallet. You gave me a scare! I don't know what I'd do if I had lost it for real. Just how _did_ you manage to do that? I haven't been around you for at least two and a half chapters."

"It was back in chapter 4 that we actually had physical contact."

"Gin-san, the way you said that sounded a bit out of context."

"Oh, that reminds me... I should open this."

I stared down at the envelope. I swear I wanted to tear that blasted thing to shreds; it gave off a serious tension in the air. I... didn't like where this was going. But, I can't wait any longer. I slid my thumb at the corner of the envelope. I cringed when it started to tear. I started to grow nervous; a twisting feeling was in the middle of my gut as it started to open a bit more. I took a breath as it finally ripped to the opposite side. Well, here goes.

I pulled out a letter; it was folded in three halves. I wasn't sure what to make of this. Was this some kind of joke? Even if it was supposedly "important", this thing was really pissing me off. And so, I opened the letter and began to read.

This handwriting seems so familiar... Could it be!?

_Dearest little brother, _

_How is your stay here coming along? You're not nagging at anyone, are you? You always were pretty grouchy when you didn't get your way. How have you been? I hope those Odd Jobs characters are treating you okay. I hear the main guy of the group is a good-for-nothing that works for money, yet he's dead-beat poor. I don't think anyone pays him any, do they?_

He's starting to piss me off. I've had enough of all these comments about Gintoki. I've already heard it this morning, especially when they have come out of his mouth. I wanted to tear the letter right then and there, but he also had something else to say.

_I hear you've got the book, too, don't you? Don't worry about it, though. Have you mastered it yet or are you afraid of the contract? You're a country for God's sake; I think we can defy that, can't we?_

What are you talking about? How do you know about this? He said, 'too'. He also has one? So there are two!? How many are out there?

_Well, as the rumors go. It's about centuries old. And the one you have is the most talked about there are only two that exist and they can only be found in Edo. Not many people believe it because it's only a legend. There are people who would go to great lengths to have such power. Greedy bastards. You might just have enough to have everyone down on their knees bowing. But more or less, it's like opening Pandora's Box without thinking of the consequences. It was sealed off with magic. And lucky enough, you happened to find it. But, you are rather careless at times, Arthur. You never change._

_Before opening this, you felt a bit nervous, didn't you? Sorry for the fright, then. Well, I have to end this and so soon. I was thinking of having us catch up, but I'm busy. See you around._

And with that, the letter ended. I stared at his words for a long moment until someone spoke up.

"Hey, Kagura, can you read anything?"

"No, Shinpachi?"

"Eh..."

I jumped back and turned around. "What in the world—how long have you been there?!"

"I was wondering when you'd notice. So, uh, what did it say?" Gintoki was looking at me as he scratched his head. "None of us could read whatever writing that was. What is it, anyway?"

"It's in English. And, it's... not really anything of interest."

"You don't seem comfortable from the look of things."

"...I'm not." I told them plainly with a frown that eventually formed into worry. I reached out and grabbed Kagura by her shoulders. I shouldn't be hostile, but I was starting to panic. "Kagura, the one who sent you this... Do you have any idea of what he looks like at all?"

She looked at me sadly. "No, I couldn't see his face. I'm sorry."

"No, Kagura, please," I begged. "You'll be doing me a favor. At least tell me what he wore."

"Uhm... Well, I couldn't see his face because he had a hood on. But, he did have this dark blue cloak on and a pair of boots, but that was it."

"Ah!" I gasped, overhearing Gintoki and Shinpachi as well. It seemed we all looked at each other.

"You've seen him before?"

"We did. Gin-san and I did. He passed by us just this morning."

"Damn..." I immediately moved away from Kagura, my hands grabbing at my hair and turned away. I heard a couple of footsteps running towards the door. It might've been Gintoki and Shinpachi because Kagura was right behind me. I sighed and sat down, placing my hands on my palms. I felt sick, I wanted to cry. I don't know what I wanted to do...

"Artie. I'm sorry." Kagura told me sadly, she sounded guilty. It hurt me. I couldn't bring myself to agree, because it wasn't her fault. I wasn't expecting him to show up here so suddenly. His appearance is something I didn't need right now. I looked up at Kagura; she was staring back at me. It looks as if she was about to cry. "Kagura," I began. "It's alright. It isn't your fault. Actually, I didn't know this would happen, either."

"Arthur-san," I heard Shinpachi walk in, I saw Gintoki watching me too. "Whatever was in that letter, we need to know everything. Whoever that man is, you seem to know him well as he does you."

I looked down; there was a lot of explaining to do. But first:

"That man in the cloak. He's my oldest brother..."

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><p>I'M NOT DEADD! Here is chapter 8 to start the end of the month with. I'm about to start on Chapter 9, but I need suggestions because my brain is fried right now with classes and I haven't had any time to work on this fic, which has been, well, for-freaking-ever. I was also planning on writing one-shots to make up for the times I have been on a long-term hiatus from writing. They won't be about Gintama or Hetalia. Unless you have any ideas, I'd be willing to take them and see what I can do. And for anyone who's still reading this fic, congrats on reaching Chapter 8! (^0^)/


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9. Chapter 9. You know it's been a while since I last updated this. How long has it been since this hiatus? Two, three years of writer's block? Most likely. Since NO ONE has offered to HELP ME. The hiatus has gone by a lot longer than I have anticipated. I almost gave up on it until seeing another review. It wasn't much but it wasn't a lot either. But it made a difference, so I ended up going back to this. I've been busy with my other crossfic, "Yotsuba no Basuke". If you like Kuroko no Basuke and Yotsuba&! You'll love the adorably, funny crossfic. That's on hiatus, too, since I've been studying for finals. I'll try to at least update one of the two when I get the chance. College life is nuts. :P

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><p>~Gintoki's POV~<p>

"So, that means he's...!" I managed to intercept Shinpachi's response with mine.

"He's a country, just like me..." I watched the disapproving look on Arthur's face. The way his brows wrinkled sadly made me feel sorry for him.

"So what do we know about this guy? Should we hate him or do we kill him?"

"Gin-san, I'm pretty sure those options are exactly the same thing." Shinpachi said to me, but I ignored him like I usually did in these situations. Why listen to old four-eyes here?

"Well," Arthur began. He rubbed his neck and averted his eyes as if he was almost hesitating, trying hard not to think too much about it. But he felt uncomfortable. The way he shifted in his seat to the fiddling he was doing with the envelope. I could have sworn there was sweat coming from his brow. "He's my brother, as I've already pointed out. We happen to fight a lot. Among the rest of my brothers, he's the one I'm not exactly in good terms with..."

I could have sworn he was gonna go on a tangent and give us a little sob story about how much he cared about his brother and that he didn't want to start fights with him, but wanted the best for him or something like that like the others who came before him. But, then I got this:

"He's an idiot with red hair and his breath reeks of cigarettes and he's an obnoxious drunk with nothing better to do than pick up women left and right and he must not have a hobby because he happens to have lots of fun picking fun at me along with the rest of my brothers while I'm the one helping his country and here he is vying for independence when he can't even put down a fucking cigarette butt. As if I didn't have enough to deal with, he's here, too. Back home, it's like I'm babysitting him making sure he doesn't cause any trouble in a bar somewhere nearby. It's really bothersome taking him home when he likes to put his weight on me. Even while drunk, he's doing all these things on purpose!"

Not the best response I was expecting, but it was a given. It wasn't the first time we've had problems like this. I would have to say, Arthur's no different compared to what we've taken care of. But, at the same time, I don't think I've ever had a country ask for my help before. He can't be an Amanto, either. I wonder what our country would look like as a human... an Amanto would be too much. I'd kick him in the balls for letting in these weird alien dudes walk all over the place. Not that I care. They're not my problem.

"He does sound pretty irresponsible doing things like that and then asking for something when he knows he shouldn't have." Shinpachi said.

"Sounds like a dick move." I put in.

"Tell me about it," Arthur replied. "Try sleeping tonight knowing that he's wandering the streets. Not to mention the fact that he knows where I live."

"We can always move you, Artie, I'm sure Shinpachi wouldn't mind you staying with him and Sis for a few days."

"Yeah," Shinpachi agreed but then made a face and looked at Kagura. "Wait, what?! Don't go making ideas without asking me, especially if it's my house!"

"So you _don't_ want him staying at your place?" I asked Shinpachi a bit forcefully.

"I should be asking you that, Gin-san, you're the one with a job here."

"Correction: It's _our_ job. And it's _our_ job to protect the customer." I explained to him. "That's what the writing above my desk says."

"Mind your sugar levels." I heard Arthur read from his seat. "Splendid, just what does that have to do with your clients?"

"To make sure they don't overindulge."

"In what?"

"I-It just helps to have a little pep talk, okay?"

"Okay," Arthur chuckled. "So does that mean I'm staying here tonight or am I going somewhere else?"

"Well, I don't think it's a good idea to stay here if you don't want to bump into him again."

"Unless you wanna cuddle with Gin-chan, I'm sure he wouldn't mind either." Kagura suggested.

"Hell no!" I said immediately and it seems like both Arthur and I said it in unison. Somehow, I doubt staying here will work out either way. Then, I remembered something. "Oi... Arthur, when you mentioned your brothers... Just how many do you have counting your older brother?"

"Four." He said, "I can barely stand one. There's Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Wales."

"I didn't know you were part fish." I said. "Don't whales live in the ocean? Does that mean you're like a merman or something?"

"You git! That's 'whales'. And they happen to be mammals, mind you!"

"What's a mammal?" Kagura wondered in confusion. "But what's the difference between 'Wales' and 'whales', anyway?"

"I don't think this is going anywhere." Arthur gave in with a sigh and looked at the rest of us. "Seriously, what are we going to do?"

"Shinpachi~!" Kagura piped up.

"I-ugh..." Shinpachi sighed, it seemed he didn't have a choice in the matter. "So you guys really don't want to cuddle, do you?" I think he was teasing at that time, or was he just being a jerk? I couldn't tell. He was usually the straight man so everything is almost the same. "...I guess my sis wouldn't mind if you stayed over, I mean you met her already so I don't think you'd have any problem with her. But, her cooking skills are a different story."

A completely different story! Oh man, her cooking! I almost forgot about that. Should we just warn Arthur, or wait till he sees for himself? Her cooking is life-changing and I am absolutely terrified. Come to think of it, I would rather take sharing my bed with Arthur compared to that. It might dent my pride as a man having another man in bed with me, but it's not like I'm bending any rules. So don't get the wrong idea here. On the other hand, it would be awkward lying next to Arthur when you're trying to sleep at night. Well, he doesn't snore so that's one good point. Also, he's a guy. Unless I was into men (which I'm not), I don't think I would mind at all.

"What could possibly be wrong with her culinary skills? Surely, you jest." It seems Arthur didn't believe me when I said Otae's cooking sucked. Looks like he's just going to have to wait and see for himself.

~Both POVs~

Arthur couldn't really understand why Gintoki and Shinpachi were so against Otae's cooking. She was a decent woman, what could be so bad about it? Since Kagura had suggested this, they all happened to head over to Shinpachi's house in no time at all. Although, he felt a bit paranoid since reading his brother's letter... He wondered if everyone else was here? He wasn't really sure if this was some kind of practical joke. Because if it was, it's a well-played one. Whatever the case may be... He was afraid of the outcome. But somehow... He felt safe around these three. Arthur might not have been here long enough but he felt He could rely on them.

Everyone just seems so at home here, probably because they've been here countless times before. Shinpachi was playing some sort of hand-held game. Music was resonating from the game as he played, concentration bore his face as he pushed each button. There was an audience in the background with the voice of a young girl cheering as he progressed. Arthur wasn't sure what kind of game he was playing, but he looked as if he were having lots of fun while Kagura on the other hand, was enjoying some rice crackers that Otae had left on the table. He glanced over at Gintoki, he happened to be comfortable from where he was. He was laying down on the floor, not really doing much of anything.

He yawned and scratched his head. _Just how on earth does he keep his hair like that? It's like a mop from the looks of it, a silver mop. _Arthur thought. It took him a while but he spaced out. When he came to, Gintoki was looking right at him.

"What?" Heasked him. He didn't catch what he said the first time, but it was a good thing he asked again otherwise.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Oh, no. I was just thinking about something." The Brit replied. He was still a bit worried about Scotland finding him here. _What business does he have here? Could he be the only one who could help me get back home? Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here, for all we know he could be the bad guy for Pete's sake!_

"It's not my face you're thinking about is it?" Gintoki was smirking. Arthur wasn't sure what this guy's orientation was besides the fact that he has a crush on the weather girl but it seems he likes to tease him a lot, which left room for some questions. _I'm_ _not really sure if I'm just the only one that's uncomfortable here or if Gintoki's just completely gay for me. I can't blame him, though, hell I'm much more good-looking than that France._

"Here we are!" Otae said as she walked into the room with a tray of food for each of us. "Sorry for the wait."

"Hey, Big Sis! Need any help?" Kagura asked as she got up and moved the rice crackers away from the table.

"Oh! I forgot the rice in the kitchen. Would you get it Kagura-chan?"

"Okay." Kagura replied as she went off to the kitchen.

"Save some for all of us, okay?" Otae shouted to Kagura as she left. "I hope you don't mind, it's a bit overcooked." She said as she looked over at at Arthur with a shameless smile and a slight blush. Apparently, she was feeling a bit shy showing off her cooking skills to Arthur. He wasn't from Edo so she was a bit worried about the results.

_Overcooked!?_ Shinpachi and Gintoki shouted in their heads. _That's waaaaay beyond overcooked._

_That's burnt to a crisp!_ Gintoki finished. He looked over at Shinpachi and the two whispers amongst themselves.

"Gin-san, what do we do? Do we stop him?"

"I think it's too late for him now, he didn't believe us when we said she was bad at this!"

Kagura returned with a huge bucket of rice and set it down as she sat next to Otae and the woman had given each of them an entire bowl of rice and waited for them to start picking out what they wanted, it seems she had made enough for all of them. "Come on, don't be shy. There's enough to go around."

Gintoki and Shinpachi were paralyzed, staring at the huge plate of... whatever it was that Otae had cooked up. Even now, they _still_ weren't sure of what they were looking at. "Oi, Shinpachi.. Is it me or has your sister's cooking... got even worse?"

"That's beyond me, Gin-san. I think she killed someone and left the meat to deep fry and probably forgot about it."

"What the hell are you telling me, that your sister is Han***** Le****?!"

"Who the hell is that?! And why on earth was that censored?"

"Beats me, ask the writer! She's been out of commission on this fic for two years!"

"Shhh! No one was supposed to know that!"

"They know now!"

"What on earth are you idiots whispering about over there?" Arthur grumbled and shook his head. "If you two won't help yourselves, I'll take some." He said as he grabbed his chopsticks, although, he didn't use chopsticks as often as Japan and America did, so he had a bit of trouble but managed to at least get a piece of Otae's "creation". He was wondering what it was due to the odd appearance and the texture.

_It was nice knowing you, Arthur._ Gintoki said to himself as he watched Arthur devour what could be a person...or an animal...or a hybrid experiment gone wrong and Otae was the one to kill it, feeding them whatever was left of it that had been burnt to a complete crisp.

Arthur took a bite and paused a bit to savor the taste, it was a bit crunchy and it was spicy and a bit salty but at the same time it tasted a bit bland. He wasn't sure what it was but somehow it was every flavor except sweetness. He could have sworn something else was dumped into the mix but he couldn't make out the taste. "Otae... What is this exactly?"

_It's death! And you just got a taste of it!_ Gintoki and Shinpachi were screaming at the top of their lungs in their thoughts, worried if Arthur had managed to survive that terrible ordeal. They were surprised he hadn't fainted yet. _He's got balls of steel, I'll give him that._ Gintoki couldn't help but praise him.

"It's an omelet." Otae replied with a smile. "Do you like it?"

"Well, can I be honest?"

_Is he really going to say it!? _Shinpachi was shaking with anticipation but at the same time scared for Arthur's safety. He just might get them all kicked out.

_Does he understand now?!_ Gintoki was expecting it as well. _Oh, God, please tell me he understands?!_

"Is there something wrong with it?" Otae was a bit shocked but she wasn't angry, probably not yet from where Gintoki and Shinpachi were standing.

"Well, it is rather spicy and awfully salty..." Arthur explained. "It was a bit bland, too."

_Oh no..._ Shinpachi was shaking with anticipation, scared that Arthur could get them all killed.

_Here comes the hurt._

"But, with a bit more flavor it would be a lot better." Arthur said, "I actually liked it."

_He's lost his mind!_ Gintoki and Shinpachi both shouted in their thoughts, they were not expecting Arthur to say something like that.

"I don't understand why you two don't like it very much. There's nothing wrong with it." Arthur said. "Here, have some." He said as he got closer to the silver-haired perm.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Gintoki demanded, backing away as the Brit got closer each time. "Arthur, stop!" He was dodging Arthur's attempts at feeding him with every chance he got.

"Gintoki, please, just take a bite!"

"Why the hell are you feeding me?!" Gintoki snapped. "I'm a full-grown man, I don't need help eating!"

"I'm trying to prove you wrong!"

"I believe you! Now, stop! AAAHH!" Gintoki got up and ran, Arthur chasing after him.

"Hmm... Shin-chan, do you like my cooking?" Otae asked, looking to her little brother for reassurance.

"Uhm... Well..."

"Have a bite, then." She said, poking it at his cheek with a pair of chopsticks in her hand.

"S-Sis!"

Kagura was sitting at the table, eating the rest of the rice while everyone else was busy trying to feed each other. From where she was sitting, everyone looked like chickens with their heads cut off. She watched as Arthur and Gintoki were running around the place while Otae was bugging Shinpachi to take a bite. There was no way four-eyes could fake it. She ate the rest of the rice before moving on to finishing the rice crackers, keeping herself entertained while watching the scene right in front of her.

"This is a lot better than TV."

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><p>I'm actually done with finals right now. I'm on break. I managed to get this far into the story, let's see what I can do. XD The last few chapters sucked. But anyway, any other ideas to add to the fic or the next chapter, be my guest! (I'm dead serious, if you have any don't be scared to share them. This wasn't exactly the best piece of work I've done by far.)<p>

Note: Censored name is Hannibal Lecter, for those of you who are curious about the name. I just wanted to censor it for funsies. XD

I need to start putting in more references because that's what Gintama is known for.


	10. A PSA FROM shiiki-sama!

Okay guys, just so you know this isn't an update of the latest chapter since its hiatus for the past... few years now? I apologize for that. I'm pretty sure not many fic writers ever leave posts like this but since this has a few followers on its own, I figured it could use some help. I'm pretty sure some of you have heard that a certain Hetalia OC has become canon now so I can't exactly use him as antagonist, so my entire story has been compromised. I would like to leave it as is since I do have the half-worked-on new chapter that I haven't even finished yet but at the same time it wouldn't make sense because now I don't know what to do with my fic. I have no idea how it would carry on in this state.  
>Yes, I did abandon this fic. I literally planned on it but its popularity is going up slowly and everyone is looking forward to it. But the bad news is: I have fallen out of the Hetalia fandom so I have absolutely no motivation to hop back on it anytime soon, maybe never but who really knows? I haven't completely given up on this one. (Just took an incredibly long break from it, that's all. Really! ^^") I really love the dynamic between England and Gintoki and I feel they could relate a lot to each other...on some occasions, unfortunately because of the now canon OC, it's going nowhere.<br>What I'm trying to say is: **I need your help. Anything will do. Just leave me suggestions or any ideas you may have and I'll try my best to use them to my advantage in moving this story along so it doesn't sit dead entirely.** And no, this fanfic is not yaoi so no GinEng porn unless someone wants, but it will fall in a completely different category. So if you can, go wild and be creative in whatever you want to see happen in the story thus far or in the future chapters. Feel free to inbox me anything that doesn't go on the lines of _"PLs update soon!"_, it will not get me inspiration but I appreciate all the support! I haven't had much time in updating my other fics because I've been so busy and distracted with a lot of things that I never have time to work on them. So if you can, bring in some ideas/suggestions. That would be appreciated. If I must, I'll try to watch Hetalia again and see where it goes.  
>Thank you for your time and I hope to hear some ideas soon. If you want me to leave everything the way it is just to see where it goes I'd love to leave it at that. Only if everyone really wants that, then I will. But for now, <strong>HELP ME<strong>. Because honestly, I really do love this fic with all my heart and I hate to see it at a standstill. So if you can, send me something good!

~shiiki-sama

_P.S. Don't worry. Once I get a new chapter updated this post will be deleted ASAP. Also, if you have any ideas/suggestions now is the time to share them with me. I won't bite. Just don't send me hate mail because of this. I just really need your help. Thank you again. :D_


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